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you’re distracted.”
    She quickly explained, both Colm and Fiona listening intently. “It wasn’t a pleasant scene. I wish I could have arrived sooner, but it might not have made any difference. He could have had a heart attack or a stroke, and that’s why he ended up in the water.”
    “Do you know who he was?” Colm asked.
    Keira shook her head. “No idea.”
    “I hope he wasn’t murdered,” Fiona said abruptly.
    “I hope not, too,” Keira said, reminding herself that her cousin was the daughter of an experienced homicide de
    tective. “The police are there in full force, at least.”
    Owen returned and spoke to Fiona. “I just talked to your father. He’s going to be a while and asked me to give you a ride back to your apartment—”
    “I can take the subway.”
    “Not an option.”
    Fiona rolled her eyes. “My dad worries too much.”
    THE ANGEL
    47
    But she seemed to know better than to argue with Owen. She and some friends were subletting an apartment for the summer that her father considered a rathole, on a bad street, too far from the subway and too big a leap for a daughter just a year out of high school. Keira had stayed out of that particular discussion.
    “I’ll water your plants while you’re in Ireland,” Fiona said, giving a quick grin. “Maybe I’ll talk Dad into buying me a ticket to Ireland for a week. You and I could visit pubs and listen to Irish music.”
    “That’d be fun,” Keira said.
    “It would be, wouldn’t it? Right now I guess I should go pack up.”
    “I’m sorry I didn’t get to hear more of your band.”
    “They were fantastic,” Colm interjected. Fiona beamed and headed across the room with Owen. Colm turned back to Keira with a smile. “Fiona’s more like her father than she thinks, isn’t she?” But he didn’t wait for an answer, his smile fading as he continued. “If there’s anything I can do, you know how to reach me.”
    “I appreciate that. Thanks, Colm.”
    He rushed off to speak to someone else, and Keira found herself another glass of champagne. As she took a sip, feeling calmer, she noticed small, white-haired Patsy McCarthy in the foyer.
    Keira immediately moved toward her. “Patsy—please, come in. I’m so glad you could make it.”
    “Thank you for inviting me.” Within seconds of meeting almost a month ago, Patsy had dispensed with any for
    malities and insisted Keira call her by her first name. She nodded back toward the door. “I thought it’d never stop raining.”
    “I know what you mean. It was quite a downpour.”
    48
    CARLA NEGGERS
    With a sudden move, Patsy clutched Keira’s hand. “I wanted to see you before you left for Ireland. You’re going to look for the stone angel, aren’t you?”
    “I’ll be in the village that undoubtedly inspired the story—”
    “You’ll be there on the summer solstice. Look for the angel then.”
    The summer solstice played a key role in the story. “I’ll do my best.”
    “The Good People want to find the stone angel as much as you do. The fairies, I mean. The angel’s been missing for so long, but they won’t have forgotten it. If you’re clever, you can let them help you.” Patsy dropped Keira’s hand and straightened her spine. “I’m not saying I believe in fairies myself, of course.”
    Keira didn’t tackle the older woman’s ambivalence. “If they believe the angel’s one of their own turned to stone and want it for themselves, why would they help me?”
    “That’s why you must be clever. Don’t let them know they’re helping you.”
    “I’ll try to be very clever, then.”
    “The brothers will be looking for the angel, in their own way. They and the fairies all want the tug-of-war over it to resume. It’s meant to resume.” Patsy tightened her grip on Keira’s hand. “If you find the angel, you must leave it out in the open. In the summer sun. It’ll get to where it belongs. Don’t let it go to a museum.”
    “I promise, Patsy,” Keira said,